Nitrogen Foam Delivery System
A high capacity on-farm depopulation solution for improved disease control of pigs.
The Nitrogen Foam Delivery System (NFDS) is an alternative to whole-house gassing with carbon dioxide.
The NFDS releases high expansion nitrogen filled foam that rapidly stuns within one minute of immersion, where the body or brain completely loses its oxygen supply.
This method minimises pain and stress, reduces handling and ensures there is no tracheal occlusion.
How does the Livetec NFDS work?
The problem
Hypoxia is a condition that occurs when the blood doesn’t carry enough oxygen to the tissues.
Despite hypoxia being deemed as an acceptable depletion and depopulation method for pigs and poultry worldwide using inert gases like nitrogen and argon, it has not been used for whole-house gassing.
This is due to the lack of ability to seal a house or shed and adequately eliminate the oxygen.
The solution
The NFDS has been designed to resolve this issue. Using nitrogen, the NFDS delivers high expansion gas-filled foam that entirely surrounds the animal.
This method effectively eliminates the oxygen, allowing groups of animals to be rapidly exposed to anoxia without the need to seal the house or shed.
Due to the speed at which the animal breathes in the nitrogen, they very quickly lose consciousness allowing a stress, harm and pain free way of culling.
The NFDS is made using modular units,which hold 5 key components.
The Process
Livetec Systems Foam Generators
Using our extensive research and development projects, we have been able to evolve the design and further develop our foam generators, improving our efficiency to the highest standard.
Our latest generator, when supplied with the correct pressure and flow rates of gas and foam solution can generate up to 50m3 (1765 CU ft) of high expansion nitrogen foam per minute.
Creating the NFDS
Since our inception, we have been involved in the research and development of high expansion gas-filled foam systems and are the current leaders in the field.
Our original work was a joint project funded by the UK Government in collaboration with the University of Glasgow Veterinary School and the Royal Veterinary College, London.
Through our projects, also supported by livestock Industry grant funding, we established that the exposure of animals to inert gas in high-expansion water-based foam had the potential to be deemed as a highly effective and humane method of euthanasia.
Livetec established that using this method, the cause of death was anoxia as opposed to occlusion of the airway, which happens with medium expansion air filled foam. This was corroborated by post-mortem examinations in which no evidence of tracheal occlusion with foam was found.
Why use the Livetec NFDS?
- Multi species: An effective solution for use with all species of poultry (the NFDS is currently being evaluated for additional species too)
- Scalable: The NFDS can be quickly ramped up for increased throughput, allowing for high volume of animals to be processed
- Increases throughput: Higher volume throughput per shift than any other technology being used worldwide
- Rapid deployment: The modular, trailer mounted setup of the NFDS allows the unit to be quickly moved to anywhere in the state or country
- Easy to use: With the ability to be safely run by minimal staff, the NFDS can free up essential resources
- Improves welfare: The NFDS has been designed to minimise distress and pain to animals, with minimal handling
- Reduces stress: The system also eliminates Caring-Killing paradox by reducing stress on livestock producers and handlers
- Flexible: The NFDS can be used in various scenarios, like outbreak depopulation through to processing
- Easy to clean and disinfect: Maintains the highest level of biosecurity and allows for rapid redeployment
- Less water use: In comparison to normal firefighting foam, the NFDS uses a considerable amount less water